I write as a STEWARD OF TRUTH who understands that words spoken today become foundations for generations coming and I understand fully that SILENCE IN THE FACE OF IMBALANCE IS PERMISSION AND CONSENT.
Someone made a statement recently with confidence, saying I CANNOT FOLLOW A POOR PASTOR and it has caused a lot of arguments.
The statement carries the sound of wisdom to many, but if we are going to be discerning as a people, we would agree that WISDOM is not measured by how CONVINCING a statement appears, but how ACCURATELY it aligns with the WORD OF GOD because “…to the LAW and to the TESTIMONY! If they do not speak ACCORDING TO THE WORD, it is because there is NO LIGHT IN THEM” (Isaiah 8:20).
Material wealth is never the yardstick of SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY, by the standard of the Bible, which is meant to be our standard as believers and ministers of the Spirit. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, did not have possessions that men could call wealth, yet He carried the FULLNESS of DIVINE AUTHORITY, had no place to lay His head, yet all things were made THROUGH Him and FOR Him.
If riches were the proof of leadership, then heaven would have withheld authority from Christ, but the Father instead said, “This is My BELOVED SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED.”
The apostles followed this same path.
When Peter met the lame man at the gate called Beautiful, he did not measure his credibility by what he owned but spoke with CLARITY and CONFIDENCE that came from the intimacy he had with Jesus: “Silver and gold I do not have, BUT WHAT I HAVE I GIVE YOU.”
It’s quite unfortunate that we have so many who stand on the exalted altar of the God and they boast of having SILVER and GOLD but the question now is, WHAT ELSE DO THEY HAVE?
Do they have the PRESENCE? Do they have the POWER?
What Peter carried was not diminished by what he lacked because we could see that power flowed from him to the man and the man was made whole.
The apostle Paul also testified that he had seasons of hunger, thirst, and lack, yet this same Paul commanded the Church to imitate him as he imitated Christ.
If poverty automatically disqualifies a man from being followed, then the Holy Spirit would be contradicting Himself through the pen of Scripture and that is not possible.
The danger is not in wealth or lack but real danger arises when wealth becomes the filter through which truth is discerned.
Unfortunately, money is gradually becoming a qualification for credibility, and the next generation of ministers have began to chase PROVISION instead of PRESENCE, INFLUENCE instead of INTIMACY, and PLATFORMS instead of PROCESS.
Paul warned that those who DESIRE to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, not because money is evil, but because MISPLACED DESIRE CORRUPTS JUDGMENT and reorders priorities.
The Bible does not ask us to follow the most visible or prosperous but calls us to remember those who spoke the Word of God to us, consider the OUTCOME of their lives, and IMITATE THEIR FAITH.
FAITH IS THE EMPHASIS, NOT FORTUNE.
DOCTRINE IS THE EVIDENCE, NOT DISPLAY.
CHARACTER IS THE WITNESS, NOT COMFORT.
However, we must be careful not to go on the extreme. The Bible does not glorify poverty, nor does it name lack as spirituality. God supplies the needs of His servants and He delights in blessing obedience. Yet nowhere in the Bible does God use PROSPERITY as the authentication of truth.
Never despise provision, but never also confuse it with approval. Build your LIFE and MINISTRY on truth, Scripture, and on Christ. A day is coming when every work will be tested by fire, and it will not be the size of what was possessed that will endure, but the substance of what was built.
Beloved Son, I write this for you and also for those you will raise. I write this so that when history opens its books, it will be recorded that we men like us chose ACCURACY over the APPLAUSE of men and FAITHFULNESS to the LORD over the FASHION of men.
…And let this settle the matter with holy sobriety.
God will judge every man, not by how loudly he spoke, how widely he was celebrated, or how much he accumulated, but by WHAT he did for the Kingdom and what he did with what the Kingdom entrusted to him.
Authority will be weighed.
Resources will be accounted for.
Influence will be examined.
Gifts, opportunities, seasons of abundance, and seasons of lack will all testify.
We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive according to what we have done in the Body, whether good or evil and on that day, wealth will not speak for you, and lack will not excuse you, it is only that which advanced the counsel of God and honoured the name of Christ that will remain.
It is however important that we LABOUR, LEAD, GIVE, TEACH, and LIVE with eternity in view, knowing that the Kingdom keeps perfect records and heaven never misjudges anyone. Grace to you.
Your Brother,
Peter Jerry
